All India Congress Committee (AICC) Vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday will visit the district, which has witnessed second highest farmer suicides since April 1, 2015, to instil confidence in farmers who are distressed due to severe drought conditions and mounting debts.
Rahul Gandhi is expected to arrive in Ranebennur at 9:30 am. The AICC vice-president will meet the farmers' leaders at Ranebennur helipad over Kalasa-Banduri issue. He will then travel to Maidur by road, where he would meet the family members of the deceased farmer Ashok Madiwal. Madiwal had committed suicide due to crop failure and mounting debts. Rahul Gandhi will hold an interaction with the students of Maidur Government Higher Primary School. He will then interact with the farmers before addressing a public meeting at Gudaguru.
The Congress vice-president will have lunch at the ancestral home of Ranebennur MLA K B Koliwad.
He will continue his padayatra and listen to the grievances of the farmers and the villagers on his way to Channapur. At Channapur, Rahul Gandhi will interact with rural women. He will return to Bengaluru from Ranebennur by helicopter. Maidur, Gudugur villages in Ranebennur taluk are geared to welcome Rahul Gandhi. The twin villages with over 4,500 population have been turned into a virtual fortress.
SPG and State police on Friday reviewed security arrangements in Maidur and Gudugur villages and on the 11-km stretch between Ranebennur and Maidur. A special team, led by Shivamogga, SP Ravi Chennannavar, DySP Bykod and staff conducted a mock drill on the padayatra route. CCTV cameras have been installed at several places in the villages. DIG (East) M Nanjundaswamy inspected the bandobust arrangements.
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